Philippines

The Philippines is one of the countries most affected by natural disasters. Tropical storms, typhoons, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, floods and droughts all pose a threat to the country on the pacific Ring of Fire, which records eight to nine typhoons every year.

In November 2013, wide stretches of the Visayas archipelago, also one of the country's poorest regions, were devastated by typhoon Haiyan. More than 6,000 people lost their lives, around 28,000 were injured, and over a million lost their homes. A total of more than 14 million people were affected by the consequences of the strongest storm ever recorded.

Economically, the country is also characterized by large regional income inequalities. A quarter of the population lives under the national poverty line, most of them in rural areas.

Malteser International has been working in close cooperation with the Philippine Association of the Order of Malta since 2009. In addition to providing emergency relief for people affected by natural disasters, the focus of our work lies in rebuilding water, sanitation and hygiene facilities, and in the field of disaster risk reduction. Our regional focus is the province of Northern Samar in the Eastern Visayas